Interviewing a Manager of Bannerman Seafoods in Scotland - Case Study Example

11 January, Interviewing a manager: Introduction: Managers are people with great responsibility. As the name implies, duties of a manager fundamentally revolve around managing the business. In the literature we have today, there are innumerable theories on such subjects as leadership and management. Often, the qualities such theories demand in leaders and managers are so abstract, complex and sophisticated that it is very difficult to find all of them together in one individual at one time. Management has become more and more measurable and quantifiable with in modern trends that compliment its undeniable relation to the human psychology. Two different managers tackle the same matter in two different ways, yet both can be right or wrong. Taking this into consideration, it often becomes very difficult to realize how theoretical knowledge and concepts about management can be applied in practical work. In order to resolve such conceptual problems, an interview with a manager can often prove very useful so that the management theories can be compared with the practical trends in place. This can particularly help business management students realize the issues that obstruct the practical realization of ideal management so that they may be equipped with prior knowledge of them and prepare themselves accordingly. Owing to their central role in running an organization, the need of interviewing a manager for various purposes is commonly felt. However, it is not very easy to make a manager commit to the interviewer. It is not unusual for responsible managers to be ignorant of an appointment made with an interviewer. The haphazard and complex nature of work explains the reason. Therefore, the interviewer should have taken necessary measures on his/her own part so that the interview may be conducted with least inconvenience to any of the parties. This paper discusses the factors that need to be considered and taken care of while interviewing a manager. The information will be very useful for researchers, news reporters and representatives of other agencies who have to often seek information from the managers. In the paper, I have also discussed an interview with a manager that I personally conducted so that it may be presented as an example to refer to when required. For the interview, Ross Bannerman was selected who is the General Manager (GM) of the “Bannerman Seafoods” in Scotland. GM Ross Bannerman’s contact information was retrieved from the Bannerman Seafoods official website. A letter was faxed to him on the fax number mentioned in the website, followed by a formal e-mail, that explained the reason of interview, the expected questions and the time of interview. The e-mail address was also retrieved from the contact section in the Bannerman Seafoods official website. After about one week of the time the fax was sent, I received a confirmation letter from the Bannerman Seafoods that explained GM Ross Bannerman’s acceptance of the request, though the time of interview he had chosen was about three days later than what I had planned of. Nonetheless, I had expected such discrepancy because GMs are normally very busy people and it is indeed, very difficult for them to make an appointment. Because of this, I had prepared a list with me just to be sure in case, Ross Bannerman could not accede to giving the interview, I had other options to resort to, though I was lucky enough to have the approval from him soon after my request had been forwarded to him. Bannerman Seafoods is one of the few independent seafood companies in Ross-shire, Scortland. The company supplies good quality seafood products both within UK and overseas. Some of the countries the products from Bannerman Seafoods are usually exported to are Spain, USA, France and Greece. The whole setup was started as a family business in 1960. The company possesses a 20000 sq ft area to process the seafood products, which is equipped with sufficient storage and freezing units. The company assures that the seafood produced in its area complies with the latest quality, health and safety standards of EEC. In addition to this, Bannerman Seafoods also imports such products as Spanish Tapas in order to meet the needs of local customers in UK. Interview preparations: The fundamental purpose of my interview was to investigate the differences between practical management trends and the theoretical ideal management models, and identify the causes of difference. I also wanted to identify factors that influence an individual’s competency and eligibility as a manager. Therefore, I had to formulate my questions accordingly. Some of the questions I had prepared to ask the manager are as follows: 1. What are your responsibilities in your current post? 2. How long have you been in this position? 3. Can you describe a typical working day? 4. How did you achieve this position? (What did he do before this job?) 5. Did you study business and management at college/university? 6. Have you received any management training in your current/previous post? 7. How do you keep up to date with the latest management techniques? 8. What, in your opinion, is the most important management technique you use regularly? 9. How would you describe the role of a manager in general? 10. How has your job changed in the last few years? 11. Ho do you see your job changing in the next few years? The interview structure: It is best to keep the interview semi-structured particularly when the interviewee is a manager. This is because many managers may not feel good replying to such questions of personal significance as age, salary and personal life. The interviewee should be expecting such responses, and should have a preliminary idea of how to tackle any inconvenience that may be caused by any of the questions in the list. It is important to review each and every question very critically and its justification with respect to ethics must be evaluated before it is put in front of the manager. The interviewee should tend to develop questions from the discussion that is going on with the manager because not only they make the discussion more comprehensive, informative, structured and interesting, but they also influence the manager to reply them because he knows why they are being asked. The interviewer’s conduct has a very big influence on the manager’s tendency to reply a particular question. Many arrogant managers may accede to reply very personal questions if asked in a sufficiently convincing manner. It was about three days to the scheduled date of interview that I received an e-mail from the GM Ross Bannerman in which he had expressed his queries regarding the interview. He had said in the e-mail that he wanted to know what the interview was all about. He had also suggested me to let him know the questions before the interview so that he may prepare for them accordingly. He considered it necessary to make the interview fruitful. Therefore, I forwarded the list of questions I had prepared to him. The interview day: On the interview day, I reviewed my list of questions a fifth time, so as to identify any critical factors that I needed to consider more. I dressed up nicely. I preferred to wear a business outfit. The way an interviewer presents himself before the respondent determines the respondent’s attitude and response towards the questions asked. One should be sufficiently serious about the interview before one may expect the respondent to be serious about it. The level of importance one imparts an event is evident from the care one takes in dressing up for it. Therefore, for formal interviews, business outfits are the best option to go for. From the shirt’s collar to the shoes heals, everything should be clean, neat and tidy. I made sure I had wiped my shoes with my handkerchief one last time before entering the room. The interviewee’s conduct is just as important as his appearance, rather a bit more. Before knocking at his door, I told the office boy that I needed to see him. He told GM Ross Bannerman about my arrival. I made sure I arrived in the office fifteen minutes prior to the time we had mutually decided for the interview. Being punctual is a sign of good conduct and discipline. While I was waiting in the visitors’ room, the office boy told me that the GM wanted to see me. I knocked at his door, he said “yes”. I entered the room, we shook hands. He said, “Have a seat please!” I lifted the chair back in such a way that it would not squeak and poured myself in it. Before I would start the interview, I explained the significance of the interview. He listened to me quite patiently with his lips pursed into a gentle smile. I asked my first question to him. From his response, I judged that the GM was an extrovert. He was much more expressive and informative than I had assumed. By the time the interview ended, I realized that he had replied all of my questions without having me ask him them. In fact, he had told me the answers of questions that could surface from the answers of my questions to him. I did not have to formulate many questions on the spot to keep the conversation going. It was he who linked one point with another, and yet another and the conversation went on, though I was no less conscious about keeping the conversation flowing. He started the discussion from the time when he had graduated. He told me that there was a lack of job opportunities in that time. There were more graduates and lesser vacancies. However, he had sufficient money and assets to start a personal business with. Ross Bannerman had secured a bachelors degree in Business Management. Owing to his ever-growing interest in cooking, he was a very good chef. He wanted to choose such a business that would combine the use of his knowledge of Business Management that he had acquired formally with his interest in cooking. He was a sufficiently good manager to supervise the chefs he had employed for work in his company, which he had opened in 1960 with the name Bannerman Seafoods. Since then, he had remained the owner of the company and maintained the title of General Manager because his responsibilities accorded with it. Bannerman Seafoods not only provided Ross Bannerman with the opportunity to have his personal business, but also seek experience as a Business Manager. He told me that his responsibilities were to make decisions, make cost-benefit analysis and make business deals. GM Ross Bannerman’s stance on Management: With respect to management practices, Ross Bannerman told me that the concepts conveyed by theorists and educationalists in the literature are quite practicable and acquirable. He told me how he actually developed good management skills by applying the concepts he read in the books in his everyday practices. He told me that practice plays a fundamental role in improving an individual’s management skills. Neither knowledge nor experience alone makes an individual a manager, sufficiently good to run a whole company setup. It takes both experience and knowledge to manage things adequately. Particularly, in the contemporary market scenario, it is imperative that experienced managers keep updating their knowledge with the latest theories and literature about management so as to maintain an edge over the modern day businessmen and managers who don’t have much experience. Ross Bannerman had a firm belief in the notion that management skills can be enhanced by incorporating knowledge into practice. Many of us do not visualize management theories as anything close to reality. Management theories are conventionally crammed only for passing the exams, and many people do not deem them practicable, though Ross Bannerman considered them necessary for acquiring good management skills. Reflection: The interview took about an hour to complete. The discussion was very informative and adequately structured. I particularly feel that my formal preparation of the interview filled confidence in me that helped me a lot during the whole interview. I knew what to ask if ever the conversation stopped somewhere somehow, though to my fortune, Ross Bannerman was also very expressive. Read More